


Silent Goodbyes

by Ace Of Hearts (huntingmyths)



Category: RWBY
Genre: Character Death, Goodbyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7622851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntingmyths/pseuds/Ace%20Of%20Hearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one knows the truth of how Neo and Roman Torchwick came to know each other. Until Neo comes to Cinder to beg for her best friend back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silent Goodbyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Team_Free_Will_Aesthetic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Team_Free_Will_Aesthetic/gifts).



> A small ficlet I couldn't get out of my head after seeing a picture of a sad Neo.

No one knew where Roman Torchwick had stumbled upon the small, mute girl with two-toned colored hair and eyes. It was their secret alone and no one was willing to risk their lives to ask, though it wasn’t really a secret. No one asked and Roman didn’t care to tell anyone anyways. It wasn’t worth it to have that leverage against them.

In truth, Cinder was the only one who actually knew how and that was because Neo had told her. Everything had been written down on a piece of paper, pictures drawn off to the side of herself and Torchwick, looking more like a child’s drawing with crayons that anything else despite the neat handwriting. As her eyes skimmed the writing, she couldn’t help but glance over at the upset young girl who sat curled up on a chair with tear stains on her cheeks. It looked as though the girl had cried herself out and there were no more tears.

It had been two weeks since Neo had come to her and she still didn't know what to do about it. They needed to move their plan along, but the girl was useless to them, nothing but tears since Torchwick had been killed. She could only hope that they would be able to move on soon.

_ Roman found me when I was twelve, _ the writing began.  _ I don’t remember much about my childhood, but I remember being picked on because of my hair and my eyes. They weren’t natural, the other kids had told me, especially when my eye colors switched. Every time I talked, the other kids would ignore me or laugh at me and tell me that I was stupid. I even got beat up all the time. _

There was a picture of what looked like a sad child with the girl’s hair colors drawn between the paragraphs as if for emphasis. Cinder’s gaze flickered towards Neo who didn’t move.

_ Roman was stealing from a house down the street from my family’s when he saw the kids picking on me and shoving me down. He watched as my parents sat in the window way, watching as I was hurt and not doing anything about it. He came up to us and told the kids that was no way to treat a lady. But I wasn’t one, was I? And who was this strange man with a white hat and jacket and orange hair with a cane that came to my rescue. _

_ He introduced himself to me as Roman Torchwick and asked if I wanted to go with him. I turned to the window and saw my father grabbing his weapon before shaking my head frantically. I didn’t want to see this nice man get hurt because my father was mad. _

_ He followed my gaze before smiling at me and saying that he would see me again soon before walking away. My father walked out, yelling at me for talking to strangers, for being too weak to be a Huntress. A disgrace to my family, he’d called it. _

_ That night, after all the lights were off, my father grabbed me by the neck and began to strangle me in the hope that I would die and the disgrace would be gone. My mother was pregnant at the time and it wouldn’t be a big loss if they lost me. I remember it hurting so bad and seeing spots before I heard what sounded like a gunshot going off. _

Another picture, this time of Torchwick aiming his cane-like gun at nothing in particular, though there was red off to the side that could possibly be blood.

_ I felt the pressure on my neck disappear and thought that I was going to hit the floor, but it never came. I looked up to see Roman looking down at me in concern and asking if I was okay. I opened up my mouth, but nothing came out. I didn’t know why at the time, but instead, I just nodded in agreement. _

_ He looked at my father and demanded to know why anyone would try to kill their own child. My father told him I was weak, that I would never amount to anything. Roman looked down at me again and asked once more if I wanted to go with him. I nodded in agreement; anything was better than being there, than dying. _

_ My father shot his own gun and that was the first time I learned about my semblance. To create a mirrored illusion that shatters upon impact, giving us time to disappear to safety. As soon as we were out of the house, Roman propped me up against a tree and said that he’d be back before going back into the house. I don’t know what happened and he never told me, but he set the house on fire before picking me off and taking me away. _

A third picture. This one had two faces, one of Neo and one of Torchwick, both of them smiling happily. She had to look over at Neo, knowing that for whatever reason, they had been happy together.

_ He told me that he would teach me to be strong and fight, that he would make sure I was never seen as weak again. And he kept that promise, but the promise he didn’t keep was that he would never leave me. _

_ I just… I want him back, Cinder. Please bring him back to me. _

Teardrops were still visible, though they had dried by the time Cinder had been given the paper. She stared at the girl silently, wondering how she should approach this. Ever since she had met Torchwick, Neo had been a shadow to him, following him around and following only his orders. Likewise, she had seen how much the redheaded idiot had cared for the child, making sure she was safe and well cared for.

The door opened, causing Cinder to raise her eyes and see Mercury and Emerald walking in. She glanced over at the young girl before saying, “Emerald, I want you to do something for me.”

“Yes?” Emerald asked, her voice dripping with curiosity.

“Give Neo the chance to say goodbye.” The two looked at her in shock and she could even feel Neo’s eyes watching her in confusion. “Just do it.”

Emerald sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes even as she walked over to the pink-loving girl and sat across from her. They could all see the smile on Neo’s face as she saw the illusion, seeing Torchwick one last time before they moved onto the next plan.

You couldn’t have an ally distracted after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if I want to continue this with a sequel of Neo's reaction to being able to say goodbye to Torchwick or a small series about their time together. Maybe one day I'll do something more with this.


End file.
